After the Hood
by Ki-Chan Riker
Summary: Jason Todd is the Red Hood… Dick Grayson is Nightwing… Two sides of the same family. The golden boy and the black sheep. But with Dick's persistence and the girl who he considers a sister keep at it, well… It's not Jason's fault he doesn't want anything to do with family. But his siblings have a weird sense of Ohana- family: And Family doesn't get left behind or forgotten… Ever
1. Chapter 1

**After the Red Hood  
>Chapter One<strong>

Abigail threw the sniper rifle aside as she landed in the rubble. Her combat boots tossing up plumes of dust and debris as she scrambled towards the still figure that had once been Batman's greatest failure.

Green eyes frantically searched for injuries and wounds. She rolled him over and Jason groaned in protest, blue eyes blurred with pain.

"Jason?" She asked frantically trying to decide the state of his wounds.

"Don't let Eastside run rampart on you." Jason whispers as she helped him lean against what had once been a building.

"Eastside still belongs to you." She told him. "Give it a couple weeks, you'll be running the crime and Drug Lords again."

"Abigail," Jason's breath caught in his chest. "Stop…." He grabbed her wrist and shot a glare at his only friend. "I'm hurt…I need you. You're the only person that I trust to keep….Eastside in line."

Abigail's eyes widened. "Jason, I don't…. I can't….. Eastside only listens to the Red Hood, not Death's Mistress.

Jason's grip loosened. He used the last o hi strength to make one final command. "Do it, Abs. I need you to do this…..Please."

She heard Jason Todd, the one man that drove her crazy with worry. He had pushed, demanded, and scared his way through life actually use the word, 'please' and it broke her.

"Jason Toddy, don't you dare do this." Her eyes flashed dangerously, "I have come too far for you to let that sick Maniac win. You won't die tonight and you will control Eastside again. Do you understand me?"

Jason chuckled, grimacing. "You always were stubborn….. Just…. Let me go. Why is that so hard?"

"I am not losing you, Jason." Abigail ripped her sleeves and fastened a makeshift tourniquet on his thigh.

Jason's eyes dimmed with pain as Abigail tried to get him to respond. Her sharp ears picked up the dull rumble of an incoming plane. She was frantic, looking for a place to hide the two.

As she pulled Jason out of the open, out of all of the planes it could have been, the batwing landed between the other buildings that were still standing. Nightwing jumped out of the hatch.

Abigail froze, her body partially hidden in the shadows. Should she ask Batman or Nightwing for help? Knowing what Jason would want her to do and knowing that he'd die without help, put Abigail at war with herself.

Jason had explicitly told her not to trust anyone involved with Batman personally. As Abigail looked to her friend, realizing how pale he was, her decision was made.

Abigail headed cautionary to where the Dark Knight and the Nightwing were gathered with a bound Joker. Seeing the maniac that had hurt Jason, she instinctively lunged forward, grabbing a blade out of a sheath on her leg.

Seconds later, Joker felt an arm wrap around his throat, and a heavy weight settling on his back before a knife was stuck between his ribs. Stabbing in the heart.

*~PAGE BREAK~*

The Joker's suit was staining red with blood, his eyes gleaming as he began to chuckle. "All this time it took an unknown person to down the greatest of all…."

Batman lunged forward, knocking the girl off of Joker, when he saw the glint of the blade. Even as he did so, he knew that he wasn't quick enough.

The woman was startled as they impacted the ground but quickly regained her head. Rolling across the ground, Abby lunged upwards aiming to hit Batman. "That clown dies for what he did!" She spat, jumping forwards hitting Batman as she tried to reach the Joker.

Batman commanded, grabbing a forearm in his grip. "The Joker will pay for his crimes, but death isn't an option."

Stopped short as the much taller man held her arm, Abby glared. "He took the only person that was my family. I have wanted to kill him for years."

Nightwing, who had called reinforcements called out. "The Joker should live. It looks like our mysterious guest missed by a couple centimeters. Lucky us."

Hearing that the Joker would live, Abigail's head shot upwards. Remembering her fatal mission she tried to get out of the caped Crusader's grip. "Hood!"

Batman let go of her forearm, jaw dropping briefly. Both Nightwing and he followed as the young woman ran towards an alleyway on the edge of the explosion. She collapsed beside the blood stained figure. She covered her mouth, whimpering while hesitantly asking. "Hood?"

Seeing his adopted brother, Nightwing looked worriedly at his old mentor. Batman knelt beside the trembling gir, wrapping his arms around her. "I will help you save the Red Hood."

Abigail let the tears fall freely as the man slowly led her away. "I can't lose him…. I can't loose Red Hood. I just can't."

The words were a plea, a life line as Batman settled her in the Batmobile. Walking back to the alleyway, Batman helped his former ward carry his precious cargo to where the ambulances sat. Doctors trying to stabilize the green haired devil.

Doctor Carrie Frauline spotted them, ordering several underlies to help her. Seeing who it was, Dr. Frauline's sharp intake of was the only indication of unprofessional feelings. The rather petite doctor barked orders left and right. "Henley, I need an IV of fluids immediately. Jill, I want blood pressure and heart rate. Get a drip going if you have to. We don't want him going into shock. Tess, where's shears?" Dr. Frauline started to catalogue injuries, looking at the leg with the shard of glass. "I need his pant leg removed so that I have a better idea of his leg."

The doctor was in her element, yelling commands and asking questions. The area was complete chaos yet Frauline seemed at home as they got Jason on the hospital bed and loaded into the back of one of the ambulances.

Doctor Frauline turned around, pushing dripping strands of hair off her forehead as she took in the two protectors, "Don't worry about him, Bats. I will do all that I can to save him."

Batman lowered his head slightly, conceding to her. Carrie Frauline smiled wearily, before walking briskly to one of the response vehicles.

A caravan of flashing lights and sirens slowly wound their way through the streets of Gotham, heading towards the hospital. Nightwing asked as they left eyesight. "What about the girl, boss? She knows Hood. Pretty well from the looks of it."

Batman sighed, looking at the Batmobile. "I don't know. Hood never said anything about the girl."

Nightwing's eyes furrowed beneath the mask, "Looked to me like they were close. But how close exactly?"

Batman started to walk towards the car, leaving his protégé to leave also.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the really short chapter this time folks. This is basically what I have typed at the moment, however I've been writing like crazy in my notebook so as soon as I finish bits and type them, new chapters get posted. As I've said before, this is my NaNo WriMo project, that means yes characters are a little... Flat. Sorry about that, I have a bit of a mary-sue problem that I've been trying to fix. On another note, it's finals week! So yeah and good luck, and I'm gonna be really busy with that too, sorry if it delays story updates. Grades are important when trying to become a vet and get scholarships, story not so much. Again very sorry. Anyway, Let the story Cometh!**

Batman stopped by the hospital, checking to see how Jason was doing. Doctor Frauline stated that Jason would be out of danger if he made it through the night.

"Can you put up another patient in his room?" Batman inquired.

DR. Frauline answered, wrinkles forming between her eyes. "Theoretically, yes. Why do you ask?"

"He had a companion. A Girl about seventeen with him. She's been in shock and denial since we've found him." The caped crusader crossed his arms, questioning.

Frauline nodded, writing something in Jason's file. "I'm sure another bed won't hurt. I'm still not sure if he'll come out of his coma."

Looking up, Dr. Carrie Frauline found that the Dark Knight had silently disappeared leaving behind a skinny, emotionally distraught teenager in his wake.

~* PAGE BREAK *~

Abigail sat on the bed, watching as the doctors and nurses surrounded the other bed. Jason just came out of surgery, still in the coma since Batman and Nightwing had found him. AS the next couple days went by, Abigail still kept her silent but watchful vigil over her friend. Jason had a breathing tube, hooked up to so many monitors and wires it physically scared her.

On the third day, a visitor came. He was tall and had blue eyes. If you didn't look closely you would have mistaken the two as brothers. In a way, I guess he really was Jason's brother.

He walked in, knocking hesitantly on the thick wooden door, introducing himself. "I'm Dick Grayson. I came to see Jason."

Abby looked up from her project of beads and string. "Hey. Jason never said much about you." Titling her head, questioning. "Why did you come?"

Dick shifted his feet, hands finding pockets under his suit jacket. "He's my brother. Why wouldn't I come visit him?"

Abby shrugged, glancing at the other bed's occupant. "He never said anything about family."

At that statement, Dick walked closer. "Were you two close?"

Abigail gave a bark of laughter, sounding similar to a fox. "You may call me Abigail, Grayson. Jason was my friend. More importantly then that he is my only family for a couple years now."

"It's nice to put a name to your face, Abigail." Dick smiled, settling himself against the window sill. Catching the way Abby acted today and how she was in that alley. It was starting to form a puzzle where the end result was a mystery.

"I found Jason a couple months after the Lazarus Pit. He was at the time taking out all of the crime in my section. We were on opposite sides that night, but when I pleaded for him to finish my life, he didn't." Abby's gaze softened as her fingers tangled themselves in her lap. "I just sorta tagged along after that."

Grayson looked curious, wanting to know more when Dr. Frauline entered, leaving after delivering a message and getting readings from Jason. "Mr. Grayson, visiting hours are unfortunately over."

Sighing, the young man unfolded himself from where he perched. "It was good getting to know where Jason has been since he's left Gotham. May I come and visit again tomorrow?"

Abby got off the bed, walking their guest to the door. "I would like that, as would Jason. He didn't talk much about his life….. Before, but I got the feeling that he was close to his family."

Dick smiled sadly, looking at his little brother. "He was a pain, but I miss it."

Abby nodded, "I was glad I got to meet part of his old family, Grayson."

~* PAGE BREAK *~

As the days continued and Jason still not coming out of his coma, Grayson visited every chance he got. Trying to cheer her up when she started to worry too much. The two soon developed a fond friendship.

Abigail's and by extension Jason's next guest was Alfred Pennyworth. The older gentleman didn't exactly show his feelings with words or tones. He brought her a book simply stating drily that it had once belonged to 'Master Jason and she must need to do something so as she wouldn't get bored.'

~* PAGE BREAK *~

Pain….. There was too much pain…. It was red hot, burning through his body…. He didn't want this pain….. Again. Everywhere he tried or turned … there was this ….. Pain.

Forcing himself to go with the waves of pain crashing into him. He saw light. Not knowing if it was good or bad, he stayed on the edge, simply hovering. Just wanting the darkness to take over again.

A voice came from the light, calling him by name. How? ….. How did they know his name? Why? ….. Why would they want to drag him from this peace? If he went towards the light, the only thing he had forbade himself from having would leave.

The voice called again, its sound melodious yet pleading. He didn't want to listen, wanting to rejoin the blackness. Why would the voice want him? Why plead for him?


	3. Chapter 3

Dick seeing his younger brother's crestfallen look joked. "You look like a girl walked out on you, Jaybird."

Jason's eyebrow rose, look seriously asking him if he used that nickname. "Abby hasn't gotten around to seeing me, I guess. She's probably trying to bribe Alfred for cookies, knowing her."

Dick looked confused, guessing Jason didn't know about the last twenty days. "She's been by your side for eight days straight, Jay. Why would she leave it…?" Dick looked like he just swallowed a rather distasteful piece of medicine, remembering something. "Bats has been tracking the Joker. He's been missing since a couple hours after you woke up. But how could she?" Dick left the end of his sentence incomplete, not wanting to make Jason worry any more.

Jason guess what could have happened. He started to rip off cords, hurriedly. Not caring if the machines started to beep. "When I get ahold of her…. Why doesn't she ever listen to anyone? Being too bull-minded for her own good. I swear sometimes…."

Dick crossed his arms, already settled on the end of the bed. Not even bothering to move from where he sat on his brother's legs, making an observation. "She's kinda like you. Minus the part where you being stuck here while she goes and does something foolish."

Jason fed up, leveled a glare at the older man, black hair laying messed up on his forehead. "Would you move so that I can drag her sorry ass kicking and screaming back to Harford, Virginia?"

Dick smiled cheekily in the face of anger, unrepentant. "Nope, see Alfred thought it might be a good idea if you stayed here. Where the Joker can't find you. Besides you are barely out of the hospital and you want to check yourself back in?"

Jason huffed with annoyance, throwing a punch. Making Dick either move or get hit. "Don't you ever stop talking?"

Dick smiled broadly, moving his head slightly. "I'm chatty, it's part of my charm. What can I say?"

Finally being free of restraint, Jason grabbed the bag of clothes that had been lying on the chair beside his bed. He yanked on his clean military pants and a long sleeved grey turtle-neck shirt before yanking on his leather jacket. Oddly noticing a stitched hole on his left forearm and smiled about it.

Dick observed as his brother stomped his feet into his boots before tying the laces quickly and efficiently. Bruce wouldn't have let any of his 'Robins' go out into the field without knowing two important things. Getting dressed in their uniforms quickly and knowing how to defend themselves. "Hey, where are you going?"

Jason, digging further into the bag and only coming up with Abby's spare jacket and pants, answered tartly. "Saving that fool- hardy, brainless squirt. Why I let her tag around in the first place I'm not sure, she's only been trouble." Underneath the gear, he found a note written in her elegant scribble, stating an address only. Finding his way blocked by the acrobat, he growled. "Get out of my way

Dick smiled cheekily. "Nope, not till you tell me something."

Jay's eyebrows rose, lines forming between his eyes as he tried to guess Dick's question. Having no such luck he finally asked. "Fine, what is it, Gypsy-Boy?"

"Tell me Truthfully, what does Abby mean to you?" Dick asked his question.

Jason looked at Dick Like he was in physical pain. ""She's practically my little sister! Hard Headed sure but I still have to save her sorry rear before Joker gets her."

Dick still didn't move, staring at Jason. Who was taller then him by two inches at six feet. "you really think you can take him? He put you in the Hosptital, Jay!" Grabbing his arm, he continued. "You've only been awake for only a few days. What makes you think you can beat the Joker?!"

Jason smiled grimly, pushing past and walking down the hallway. Dick who was following hear his brother toss back. "Because he has Abby. I made a promise almost eight years ago and I plan on keeping it."

Dick stopped cold, knowing now that Jason wasn't going to stop. "At least take me with you. I can help!"

Jason Shouted backwards. "Don't want or need your help, Circus Boy."


	4. Chapter 4

_Three days after the Joker broke out_

It was the Nurse's fault, she decided. Trying to find a position that stretched her cramped legs. She' been stuck quite literally in a gilded cage created for a bird, only human-sized. Abby was starting to see why Jason called him "Deranged mad man without any marbles in the first place."

It was the day she got desperately mad at Jason, yanking his breathing tube out and yelling at him. She didn't even know why she did that. But believing that she should get out, going to get some supplies, she had asked a nurse where she should go.

Turns out you should never trust a woman with a New Jersey accent that calls you 'Puddin' and points out the best supermarkets are deep in the Joker's territory. Especially when that same nurse turns out to be Harley Quinn, The Joker's sidekick and off and on girlfriend no less.h

So Abigail found herself literally **scooped** off the streets by and Ice cream truck. One that was blaring creepy as hell laughter and driven by a green haired freak. Where on Earth do you even find an Ice cream scoop that size anyways?

That was probably the most frightening part of her life up to that moment in fact, saying a lot when your mentor slash big brother was Jason Peter Todd and how he found her in the first place.

The door slammed shut, dragging Abby from her dreary thoughts. The Joker's laugh was the first and only indication of who it was before Abby found her face filled with creepy clown.

"So the little songbird hasn't started to sing, has she?" Joker pouted, theatrically. "I was so hoping BAtsy would drop by for a surprise party. It'll be a ttal blowout for sure!"

He cackled at his own joke, making shivers crawl up Abby's spine.

Gathering up the last strands of her courage and being brave, she retorted. "And if he doesn't come? Will it be a total bomb of a party?"

Joker smiled giddily, as he began to dance across the room. He pulled out normal party noise makers and toys. Stopping what he was doing and turning to face Abby, he asked. In his hand was a normal looking plastic toy gun. "You sure you don't betray dear ol' Batsy and join the fun side?"

Abby moved her hands to her lap, unsure about his latest question. She hoped that Jason or more importantly the Red Hood would come rescue her. Even if to her own ears that sounded so low and untrue. Jason was still in the Hospital for gosh darn it's sake. The Joker stopped clapping and doing his crazy little jig, coming to a stop in front of the bird cage again.  
>"What no snarky reply? Cat got your tongue?" He imminadtely started to cackle hysterically. Abby watched as the Joker threw his head back and laughed long and hard. The lights flickered as a storm blew in suddenly outside. It made the man's eerie cackling all the much more frightful as Abby lost sight of the man for several moments before a big clap of thunder slammed out and outlined the clown.<p>

Abby jumped thirteen inches with a yelp breaking through her lips as she stared at the man with full blown fear.

_No, not now. Not now! _Her brain demanded as the brunette wiped clammy hands on her dirty jeans. _You're fine, Abigail! There is no Russian mafia after you... This is not Russia! Jason will save you._

Abby shook her head, fear climbing higher and higher, as she curled into herself. This was nothing like Russia and what she and Jason had experienced but it was similar and she couldn't control herself from breaking into blind panic.

A/N sorry for the previous update with the missing sentence.I updated right before I left for a car trip & I didnt proofread before i posted. For the amount of views, I really wish people would post reviews. This is the only way to bring happiness to others. Before I have surgery on my writing hand I wanted to get some more chapters out for you, so I hope that you enjoy them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five,**

**Rescues**

_AN/ There are scenes of violence and past animal cruelty in this chapter. I have tried to keep it to a minuim but This is Jason's story and you can't really not be write his story without this. I'm sorry if I have offended anyone but this was important to the story later on. _

* * *

><p>Jason ran across the rooftop, the only actions were running then the jumping from the edge and falling down to the pavement before the grappling wire pulled the man into the air and landing on the next rooftop. Rinse and repeat. The red bike helmet was the only flash of color that you could see from the pavement. There was a sense of urgency to his movements, they aren't as fluid nor as smooth as the man's beside him.<p>

The one in the lead stopped suddenly, thinking for a couple seconds before spinning around a corner and the two were falling once again. This was what Jason knew best- the underground world of crime and depravity. Not the Flashy lights, the million-dollar cars, and the fancy parties and guests. That was Bruce Wayne's world, but this… this was the world of Capes and masks. This was the world were all of the Robins found themselves in unprepared but came out as much more dangerous as their new names. This was the world that Jason Todd had been born into and would never forget.

The Red Hood came to a stop in front of a warehouse. The grey sheets covering the roof were covered in rust spots and the skylights that had been built in, didn't look like it could survive the next great storm. Around the outside on the ground, leaned everything you could imagine that you would find at abandoned buildings. Windows were boarded up and a lone light bulb flickered pathetically against the dark night. The pavement was cracked and grease covered and none of the boats or ships in the harbor was nearby.

In short, the warehouse was crude and it stank.

The large form that was Jason crouched on the roof opposite the way. His jacket wasn't impressive blowing sideways in the salt flavored wind like Batman's cape, but with his forearm propped on his knee as he leaned downwards was filled with the same dark and overwhelming energy.

Dick dressed as Nightwing stood beside the man, arms crossed as he watched. There was a small crook of a smile on the man's face, but Nightwing was one of the only Bats in Gotham that never stopped smiling it seemed like. And to the eyes of Gotham's citizens, they just couldn't understand why a guy that held so much happiness and joy and excitement would be partners with the dark and terrifying Batman in the first place.

"What are we doing here, Hood?" He questioned, having made it his appointed mission to make sure that the death tolls weren't too high. If in the conflict to find and rescue Abigail and the Joker was 'accidently' killed somehow… well, at least Gotham would sleep safer at night.

Jason spared no glance for the man, eyes picking up the fancy black sedan that drove up to the entrance of the warehouse. "Him."

One black door opened and expensive looking shoes stepped right into a greasy puddle. The man that followed looked to be as equally as expensive, the grey suit he wore was pressed and spotless. The man was large but not overly, but the kind that you expect from someone eating more then three square meals a day. The man had a receding hairline and his skin was unusually ruddy.

Red Hood spoke, preparing another grappling hook and took aim. "Stay behind me and don't do anything stupid, Pretty Boy."

"You know my rule: No death before nine." Nightwing spoke, knowing that this man who he still considered a brother probably wouldn't listen to him.

"I don't have that rule." Jason tossed backwards, swinging downwards and breaking the skylight of the building. The sound of shattering glass sent the men inside scattering in terror.

* * *

><p>"The Bat's here!" "Let's beat it!" "Damn it Benny!" Rough, calloused voices cried, some of them deeper than others.<p>

A loud 'thump' was heard just before "It's something a lot worse than Batman." A familiar growl was heard that sent the people of various shady backgrounds into more of scrambling.

Jason as the Red Hood pulled the first grey haired man to his feet, a pistol pointed at his forehead.

"Red Hood!" The man quivered, eyes opening to almost impossible proportions. "I de-de-did-didn't do no-no-not-noth-nothin-ing! I swear!"

The vigilante cocked the gun, as under the red helmet Jason smirked. "Well, we both know that's a lie. But tell me Benny, what do you know about a girl getting taken from the streets ten days ago?"

"What girl, Boss?" Benny trembled, eyes springing between the gun in the man's hand and the red helmet that gave the Red Hood his moniker.

"She was snatched up by a large ice cream scoop in your area, Benny." Red Hood supplied the information. Hood's tone was daring the man to lie to his face. "Tell me what you know or I'll have to go back on my promise. And don't think for a second that I don't know about the real reason you use this warehouse.

"N-n-no s-se-sir!" Benny quivered in fear, trying to remember what the man wanted to know. "There's a woman in the North side of town, she's called Piper. Rumor has it that su-somebody has finally appealed to the Clown and that he's under her control! Bu-bu-but none of us actually believed that. Can you imagine that clown actually followin' orders?"

Red Hood interrupted the man's rambling, snarling. "Get to the point Benny. My finger is getting' twitchy."

At those words, Benny the man of man shady dealings paled to a very alarming shade of white. It wasn't the white color of freshly starched right out of the package sheets, but white in the way it's exstremely hard to get blood out of your expensive new white carpet.

"Right, anyway. They say that Piper knows everything about what the Joker is currently up to. They say she prefers a building near the North City Park and Gotham stadium." Benny cried, his complexion still very pale.

Red Hood removed the barrel of his gun from the man's skin. "Thank you for sharing with the class, Benny." The tone used was anything but sincere. The ant-hero turned around and began to disappear within the shadows but stopped. Jason caught sight of Dick up in the rafters, communicating franitically to him. The Red Hood paused almost conflicted before he shrugged and shot Benny in the forehead anyway.

Nightwing hearing the shot, dove from the rafters. "Hood! We had a deal!" He exclaimed before the acrobat registered what had happened.

The man that still considered Jason to be one of his brothers glanced at the now dead dealer. A red puddle was beginning to form around his skin. The chair had been tipped backwards onto the floor and his skin color had gone deathly pale. Not that quite that grey color you see after a person has been dead fpr a while, but more of blue around the edges. Like when you have just finished chores and you forgot your gloves even though there's snow on the ground- that sorta bluish purplish color. Glassy brown eyes stared openly into the abyss.

Nightwing caught all of this and turned to the younger man. "Thought you two had a deal."

Red Hood snarled in fury, holstering the fired gun and stomped towards a large metal shipping crate. "We did but it included no trafficking and no dog fights."

On the side on the crate hung a large metal padlock. Seeing the rusting chain, Jason pulled his gun and shot it several times point blank. Once the lock had broken into pieces on the floor when tugged, Jason threw open the door. The smell hit them first- it was overpowering in the levels that wafted out to them. The air carried the smell of pee and blood and infection. Dick gagged on it, opening his mouth to find relief.

Jason pushed the nausea and reflex to vomit to the back of his mind, instead focusing on what was important. Inside of the dark crate were rows and rows of kennels. Inside each four by six by three cage lay a dog. Each of them was covered in various scars and open wounds. None of them were pretty to look at, but the dogs were all types. From Pit-bull to Great Danes to Red Healers. It didn't matter, but each of them were so skinny, that even with their thick coats of fur, you could still see the outlines of their ribs.

Seeing the people in the doorway, none of the dogs wagged happily, instead they growled or shied away. There was baring of teeth and loud threating barks.

"That's what I was afraid of." Jason hauled the acrobat upwards and inside. "If you think I was hard on that guy, imagine what DM would do, Wing Nut. She absolutely hates dog fight areanas.."

"What the hell were they doing to them?!" Nightwing asked, looking into the depths of one cage. Inside sat a female dog with running eyes; half of her muzzle had been torn off to show sharp and yellowing teeth. If the dog hadn't been covered in long and ugly scars, Dick would have thought that this was one of the circus' dogs from Haly's. Her grey coat was missing patches of fur and there on her left should was a injury so deep that Dick had to wonder how she was still alive. Puss was coming from her foreleg, the color not at all healthly.

"Making them fight eachother. It's how they make money. There are bets on who can survive the longest." Jason told him in disgust, walking in deeper and scanning each cage.

There were all sorts of breeds, but most were of a hunting or working breed. Several of them flinched backwards to the far wall when Jason walked past. The man tried to conceal his shudder at the treatment of these animals. If Abigail had seen this, the girl would have flipped a lid or something. It was what made her so special, Jason thought. Abigail would always see the good in everyone and everything, but mostly she was more likely to bring home strays then Dick. And that took a lot to even pass him in that department, Jason knew for a fact.

By the time they reached the end of the row, Jason was really wanting to resurrect Benny and then kill him in the most painful way possible. A bullet to the head was too an easy a death for that! Dick and Jason reached the end and there in the last cage was excited barking.

Dick stared at the red dog, his eyes picking up the snarls in his fur and how his once long fur was now matted and clumped. The dog, for he couldn't tell if it was a she or a he looked to be a golden retriever. His body was rather stocky and short. But Dick could see that his paws and his muzzle were both very large and big boned. The dog was actually fitting inside the small cage rather well. The former acrobat guessed that this dog hadn't been here for long. On his neck was tattered remains of a red and black bandanna.

Jason knelt in front of the cagem ruffling the dog's ears through the wire bars while he figured out how to chain-link fenced grate.

"Alright, Lucky. Let's see if we can't get you out of there alright?" The man spoke softly and kindly to the panting dog.

"Lucky? Where did you get a dog Red?" The fond name broke Dick into asking questions. The man had been quiet far longer then Jason thought possible and he had grown uncomfortable with him.

"He's not mine. Lucky belongs to Abigail. He went missing a couple days before the Joker broke out the first time. I had simply promised to get my sister her dog back." Jason commented finally swinging the door open.

As the opening was large enough, Lucky trotted out and sat at Jason's feet. The retriever' tail swished on the floor, while almond shaped hazel eyes stared adorningly up at his rescuers.

"Call the GCPD and Animal Control, we need to get to the North End. Find this 'Piper' and go get Abigail." Jason grumbled at Dick, the dog following devotedly.

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><p><em>AN: Please Review! I know people are reading this guys- I've reached like the 700 view marker, but I really do appreciate the reviews also. This story needs a lot of work, and I don't know how to fix it without suggestions. I do know where I am going with this. But even a little 'hey, I have been reading since the beginning' 'I like what you did there' would help a lot. <em>

_On another note, I have been trying to get this to a point where I can continue even after I have arm surgery but updates won't be as fast. Sorry for the long hiatus folks! I've been buried under so much school work and ISATS- State assessment testing that it's not even funny anymore, but I've been trying to get this written because people out there are waiting for this._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six  
>Tough<strong>_

They found the Piper just as the grey clouds decided to release their burdens. The Piper was holed up in an old apartment building. The crumbling rundown look on the outside fooled the viewer about the inside's condition. The interior walls no longer sported holes, new plaster covering them. Several paint cans sat under windows with a hammer laying on top.

Red Hood, Lucky, and Nightwing eased through through the sunset lit building. The various tools and ladders cast eerie shadows and made the three tense up.

The Piper found them first. Out of the darkness came a musical voice that almost sounded familiar. "Why are the Protector and a Known Criminal coming to visit Sweet innocent Piper?"

Red Hood growled, trying to find the speaker. "You're anything but innocent Piper. You take Kids!"

Piper moved swiftly through the shadows, her voice now hard as she poke to Hood. "I do not take children. I rescue them from being unloved and turning into the next monsters of Gotham. Isn't that what the Bat did with you, Robin?" She hissed the name angrily.

Nightwing interjected, seeing the way Jason was ready to pounce. The acrobat briefly wondered how the woman would know that Jason had been a Robin, but there were more important matters at hand. "We need your help, Piper. Words was it that you know something."

Piper's voice came floating from the shadows, her position long changed from her last sentence. "I know a lot of things, Smiling Bat." A musical laugh floated out as she continued. "What is it that you wish to know?"

Jason pounced, his words coming fast as he tried to pin the silent female. "Do you know of the girl who got taken by the Joker?"

Piper laughed softly. It was short and cynical. "Both of you know what happens to birds in the Joker's hands don't you Vigilantes?" The next sentence was whispered in Jason's ear. "But what happens to the Fox? Hmmm… That's a good question."

Jason spun around trying to catch a glimpse of the woman, but all he saw was the edge of a fluttering black cloth. "Just tell us where the Joker is hiding, Piper. I don't have time for your riddles and questions."

"Very well…." The woman heaved a sigh before the wanted information came. "If you are so keen to save your pet, I shall tell you. Check the old toy factory on the edge of town. It lies on Simon Way. That factory is a favorite of his."

Jason spun out of the room, already memorizing the route he would take. The golden retriever was close at his heels, knowing instinctively that this concerned his mistress. Dick stared into the darkness, telling the woman. "Thanks for the help. I'm sorry about Hood. He's a bit antsy without our sister around."

The Piper did not garner that statement with a reply as Dick dove through the window, following his 'brother'.

A woman who was tall and lithe finally emerged from the shroud of darkness. She was clothed in black completely. The only color that could be seen was the blood red hair that moved in an invisibly wind. The only skin visible was that of her face and it was pale as a sheet. Outside of the window that she had stepped in front of, the first bolts of lightning struck the ground.

It instantly rewarded the woman with brief light, highlighting the look of hatred in her bottomless green eyes before plunging the room back into darkness.

"Shall our brothers reach you in time Ms. Fox or shall I?" She questioned out loud. "I do believe that is the question to attend to immediately."

_**~*PAGE BREAK*~**_

Nightwing and Red Hood were caught in the storm several blocks from Piper's. The lightning and thunder appeared after the rain. Red Hood stopped on the street the two were on. The man stared up at the heavens briefly, his hand dropping to tap Lucky on the head. "Aw… Shit."

Nightwing, who had been following on the roof, wiped black strands of clumpy hair off his forehead. The man took running steps, bouncing atop of the edge and then dove downwards. His legs were straight but her his arms were spread like wings. As the acrobat neared the pavement, he did not pull out a grappling hook like his more sane brothers. Instead he grabbed the curved metal of the streetlight and swung to slow himself down. After his feet were below him, the man dropped, landing in a crouch before Jason.

"It's not that much further to the warehouse, we can probably make it."

Red Hood turned angrily on his brother. "You don't get it do you?"

"Hood, I'm trying to help. We can save her in a matter of minutes if we hurry." Nightwing was taken aback by the man's tone.

"It won't be enough, Wing Nut. Abigail doesn't do well with Thunderstorms. I never figured out why, but it's a trigger. Minutes could be too late. If the Joker is around when it happens…" Jason trailed off, the air filled with what could happen and none of it was pleasant.

Nightwing held up a pacifying hand, trying to calm the other. "SO we just have to hurry a little bit more." Before he headed out into the rain once again, Red Hood following him, and Lucky bringing up the rear.

_**~*PAGE BREAK*~**_

Almost nothing broke Abigail from the memories that she found herself trapped in. They were a hell of her own making. In those memories, Abigail relived that harrowing night every night since it had happened. It was in Russia, where her family and she called home. Secret Police barged through their door that night, grabbing her mother all the while rattling off lists of offenses. Abigail had only been about four at the time, but even she knew that to call someone _Predatel'_ was bad.

_**FLASHBACK**_

It started out like any normal night for the family. Pappa would grab his wood carving and start to whittle while Abby leaned against the giant brown wingbacked chair, watching the flames. Some nights Pappa would sing, but most of the time it was of him calling _Matb_ "Come sit, my _Solavey_. The dishes can wait for later perhaps, but our _doch_ will not be so _memnogo_ for so long."

"Not yet, _Yasha_, I am finishing these pots so that they aren't too hard, later." _Matb_ was a slim woman, but brave and stronghearted. The people of the village where they lived claimed that _Matb_ was to this day still holding the title of being the one who had climbed the farthest of the Ice Demon's mountain. Abigail didn't doubt it.

Her parents would often seem like they didn't get along with each other, but Pappa once told her that half the fun was in their arguing and _Matb_ liked to be right the other half.

Her Pappa wasn't a big bear of a man like the other Russian soldiers that had come home. No, Pappa was tall as them but not a wide as a barn door. He was big enough to still pick Abigial up and toss her into the air and catch her safely, the room ringing with laughter and giggles.

Pappa often wondered how she even survived Russia winters this long, but deep down, both of them knew that _Matb_ wouldn't let the weather get the best of her. _Matb_ had red hair and blue crystalline eyes that showed her every expression. Abigail didn't remember much about the woman, but she did remember those eyes. They would become hard as a gem when Abigail got into trouble, but the next moment they would warm up like the pond in summer when there was mischief afoot.

Pappa would often fire back, eyes crinkling as he winked to Abby, "Now my little night Bird, our _Doch_ isn't getting any _memnogo_, and letting pots sit for five minutes until bed won't hurt."

"Oh all right… _Yasha, Malen'kiy Foks_." _Matb_ would always call Abigail a fox. It was one of the reason's she had chose her name to be a female fox. After convincing Jason to actually let her join up that was.

A thick heavy pounded on their door_, Matb_ switched directions and started to head for the door. The woman's unusually expressive blue eyes turned to Pappa and Abby could see that they were pools of deep fear. They looked like the pool under the tree at the edge of town that the older kids went to go swim in during the summer. But now they weren't ice or filled with humor, they reminded her of when the ice started to shatter.

"Who is it?" _Matb_ called, peeking through the thick curtain beside the heavy oak door.

"Akilina Dostoyevsky, you are under arrest for being a _Predatel_' to the government of Soviet Russia." A deep voice called out, as both _Matb_ and Pappa froze. Terror was seen in both of their eyes as they glanced worriedly at Abigail.

"Hide her. I'll take care of them." _Matb_ voiced silently, knowing that Pappa would understand the message.

Suddenly the door was broken down and four men barged into the room, that night. Pappa rose from his chair, pushing Abby into a closet, whispering, "Stay hidden _Malen'Kiy Foks_. No matter what happens and what you hear, don't come out until I or _Matb_ come get you."

The door shut and Abby was left in the dark, for how long the girl couldn't remember. But it was long, Abby fell asleep, clutching an old scarf of her _Matb's _and wrapped in her Pappa's old army coat.

A Neighbor came early the next morning, swinging the already broken door open and the elderly woman called Casimir walked in. "What on earth happened here? Yasha, Akilina? Is everyone okay?"

Abby couldn't help the tears that fell, when the woman started to look for her parents. She knew then that _Matb _and Pappa were never coming back to get her then. It must have been the sniffling that made Casimir check the closet. The old strong woman pulled open the door and knelt seeing the girl.

"Avigeya?" the woman asked carefully, calling Abigail by her given name. "Are you okay, child?"

"Pappa and _Matb_… They took Pappa and _Matb_!" the four year old version of Abigail threw herself hysterically at the woman, tears pouring from her eyes. The two knew instantly who 'They' were. Heck, all of Russia knew.. It was the secret police, often called _Cheka._

_**~*END FLASHBACK*~**_

Abby broke herself from the memories, when a large shattering sound echoed through the building. She pushed the face of her grandfather out of her mind, focusing on trying to get free of the cage she has been in for three days. The first part of her stay had been a broom closet actually, with no light what so ever. Abigail had lost track of all time when she couldn't see anything, but the girl was guessing that she had only been captive for maybe three days, but it was impossible to know for sure. It was near impossible not to freak out then, with only the darkness to surround herself by. She could still hear the ghostly guns firing their bullets.

"A fox in a bird cage." A woman snarked, coming out of the shadows. "There is something very odd about that, now isn't it?"

Abby froze, still kneeling next to the cage's lock. How did this woman know that she was a Fox? "I think you have someone else mistaken for me, lady."

Laughing, the woman eased closer. Her movements were like waves moving onto the sand. You couldn't tell were one ended and another step began. "No, I don't think so, Abigail Sara Barnes."

How the bloody hell did this woman know her full name? "Who are you?!" Abby asked, her tone now sharp as a blade. This woman was starting to rattle her. But as her features became more distinct, there was something oddly familiar. And the odd distinctive syllable was something that reminded her of something, but she couldn't tell who or what.

"I'm Piper, dear. And the Joker has made me very angry, but first let's let you stretch your legs, shall we?" A kind look came onto her face, as she produced a set of skeleton keys from a hidden pocket.

"Why are you helping me?" Abigail asked doubtful, as she swung out of the cage. The movement hurt like hell. Abby's muscle's hurt when she stretched them for the first time in days but she pushed that pain to the back of her mind, focusing on her rescuer.

Piper replied, her features causing Abigail to pause. "Because, _Malen'kiy Foks, _I know what it's like."

The woman called her, Little Fox, making Abigail halt. "Who are you?!" The seventeen year girl asked.

"Me?" Piper pointed at herself, curiously. "Why no one important, it's just simple ol' Piper."

"You called me by a Russian name." Abby accused, eyes growing harder. "I'm only gonna ask once. Who… The…Devil…Are….You?"

Piper smiled, as if Abby told a joke, one that must be clear to the both of them. "Not the devil, dear Foks, but close." She leaned inwards, stage whispering. "Try, Demon."

"Whaa?" Abigail leaned backwards, trying to piece the puzzle pieces together. This woman was not making sense to her at all.

"Oh yee of little faith.." Piper pulled an old bronze brooch shaped like a cat sitting on a blue jewel and caressed the bottom gem. The largest of the three, with two tiny emeralds placed in the circle, making it look like an earth globe. "I hope you don't still get motion sickness, dearie. This can be a little harsh on the stomach."

Abby felt the pin being clipped to her vest before a golden glow enveloped her form and sent her tumbling.

The girl didn't know what was up or down, the room beginning to feel like the sixteenth time Jason convinced her to do that Black Hole ride with him. Worst mistake of the night, Abigail came out of that ride looking like her innards were all scrambled.

Needless to say, Jason would only be doing those types of rides by himself in the future. When the room finally stopped spinning, Abigail fell to her butt, eyes tightly closed and hands over her mouth.

When she finally opened her eyes, Abigail found herself looking at glass cases. The one directly in front of her held a torn mask laying on top of two metal rods with blue stripes. The room she found herself in was large and open, streaks of moonlight were let in by the large windows on the second level.

"Nooo…" Abigail whispered, recognizing those escrima sticks anywhere. What happened to Nightwing?! Turning to the side, the distraught girl found herself face to face with Nightwing's stone statue, proudly standing. But even the hard surfaces could not hold the same lightness like the real person. The Dick she knew almost seemed like he could fly, there was a limitless energy about him, but this… This statue hurt more than anything.

Scrambling to her feet, the girl spun around and came face to face with a heavily ripped flag standing in a stand. The now faint burnt colors were probably once blue and silver, but now only grey. Stepping closer, Abby placed her palm on the weapons wondering where and when she was. Unbeknownst to her, the girl had triggered one of the many silent alarms in the building.

**~*PAGE BREAK*~**

Oracle was the mistress of knowledge, everyone knew this. She was the information broker for the hero community, if there was something about to happen, they usually went to her for details. So it was no surprise that the red haired woman was the first to be alerted about the intruder in the hall of justice.

Spinning in her wheelchair, the former Batgirl flicked through holographic screens, pulling up the camera footage.

"Now, who decided it was a good idea to steal from the hall of fallen heroes?" The strong woman asked rhetorically, zooming in to catch a glimpse of the suspect's face. "Now just look over here, just a few more inches…" The woman mumbled, trying to get a good look at her face.

When the girl finally glanced upwards, Barbara Gordon, widow of Richard Grayson, The most powerful woman on the planet, wished that she hadn't. Maybe then, she could go about living her life in a way that didn't force her to remember this girl. Once upon a time, Barbara wished for nothing but Abigail Wayne to reappear, double questioning everything she ever did.

_Had she trained her former apprentice well enough? Was there an alarm that she didn't catch? Had Oracle become too distracted by Dick's death and didn't prepare Abby correctly?_

So it was with a heavy heart that Oracle tapped the ear piece in her ear. "Oracle to Red Hood."

A growl echoed from her ear, making Barbara smile grimly. "What? I'm in the middle of something, O. This had better be good."

"Oh it is, Red Hood. There's a breaking and entering in the Hall. I need you to check it out." Oracle replied, crossing her arms and leaning backwards. There were few things that would get Jason away from his list of names and what he liked to deem as taking out the trash, but the hall was a big one.

He had been just as partial to that young girl as she did, only he saw her as more then just a protégé… Jason saw Abby as his sister. And the two of them knew the dead don't come back….well, not always.

"What?!" There was gunfire and yelling seeping through the comm lines before Jason got back on.

"I can't do anything from here, Hood, but the person that is inside…well, let's just say it's better if a familiar face showed up?" Oracle told him smoothly, hiding any unrest that working with her former brother in law brought her.

"There's something you're not tellin me, O, and I want an answer." The man spat.

"I know…. Trust me on this please." Oracle sighed, debating whether to let the other know or not. If this was Abby, their Abby, then he deserved to know more than anyone else out of the Bats and the Birds. Abby was his little sister. "I think it's Abigail…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**I still hear your voice but you're not really here.**

Jason hated going to the hall of Justice. It reminded the man of his biggest failures, but it shed a more unique light on the second Robin's death. However, Jason would never be Batman nor Bruce.

A part of the man whispered that Oracle hadn't even bothered to call him, letting the man to continue to push Abby into a past image. Something unattainable to him. Abby meant too much to him, and the vigilante had enough ghost in his past as it were.

But another part, one that still mourned the young woman felt exhilarate and couldn't believe it. Jason himself come back from the grave, so why not Abigail?

Looking around himself at the piles of bodies and the remains of a very fancy apartment, the Red Hood left his handy work behind as he headed for the window.

_***~ PAGEBREAK ~***_

Settling herself, Abigail tried to take stock of what might've happened when Piper pinned that cat pin to her. The Teenager glanced at the various statues, some looking older then others.

"Well, it's probably time-travel or interdeminsional." She noted, looking t the statute of a hero she had never heard of.

The statue woman stood proud with arms across her bosom and her feet in a shoulder wide stance. The sculptor did a good job of creating the woman lifelike with only a few details missing. To Abby, this was someone that felt rather familiar, the similarities whispering in the back of her head.

The woman was tall, about Abigail's height she guessed. The symbol on her chest was that of a bat, but the rest of her armor was solely unique. In her hands, she clutched a flurried up flag, the stone fabric pooling overtop her knee high armored boots.

Looking closer, Abby read the plaque at the bottom. "In Honor of Lisily, who fell in battle of the fight for Earth."

The name Lisily sparked a memory in Abby, a phrase spoken in Russian that she had all but forgotten. But the sudden footfalls that were threading heavily sent the girl scrambling for the shadows behind the heroes before the words could hold a meaning.

~*PAGE BREAK*~

"Explain exactly what you saw, Oracle." Jason demanded, having not found a trace of anybody.

"I told you, Abigail is somehow at the Hall, Hood." Oracle pulled up camera footage, cycling through it as she tried to pinpoint the girl. But the images only held a slight shadow cast to the edges, the blur not at all distinct.

"Give me couple seconds, she could be using the shadows and the black areas to be invisible to me."

"Right, you do you're thing. I'll do mine." Jason told her, heading with caution to find the teenager.

Catching flash of metallic leather jacket, Jason spun around. He could have sworn he heard eerie cackling.

"You're right about someone being in here, O. But I don't think it's who you want it to be." Jason radioed into the tower. His eyes were trying to pinpoint the other.

Several Half Hours Later

"Oracle, I've been over this hall for an hour. I'm not finding anyone. Are you sure that you aren't experiencing technical difficulties?" Jason spatm tiredness showing in his tone.

"My equipment is just fine." Oracle' voice was full of wounded pride.

"Well something is wrong then, because there is literally no one hee-" Jason broke off, hearing a clattering in the background, followed by some rather colorful wording left the man oddly curious.

"Hold on, Oracle. I think I have something." Jason told her.

PAGE BREAK

When Abby tripped over her feet, it nocked over a display case holding some priceless artifacts. Watching it fall in slow motion, the young woman froze. It wasn't her that did the cussing. Spinning around, the five foot seven inch tall teenager was face to face with a red haired Archer.

Once the man paused for breath, Abby smiled shyly and gave a small wave. "Hey."

"You're supposed to be dead." The Archer told her, arms crossing over his chest.

Abby looked down at herself then back up at the archer. "I don't feel dead." She said curiously.

That garnered a snort from the man as a small smile appeared on his face. "You would say that. So what brought ya back? Lazarus Pits? Reality Shattering Punch?* Or was it something else?" The man asked as his former partner appeared behind Abigail.

"Actually it was a glowing cat pin." She told him, not aware of the pistol butt coming down on her skull. Wide eyes fluttered shut as the girl fell forwards, the red haired man catching her weight. The man grunted to the Red Hood. "A little warning would've been nice Jason. I don't remember her being this heavy."

Jason holstered his guns and came closer. The man carefully hefted the girl up and headed out. "You coming Roy?"

The red haired man grinned, slapping the red leather of his pants and hurried to catch up with the other. "Are you kidding me? If this is Abigail, then I'm gonna get a front row seat to this show."

PAGE BREAK

Abby felt the unfamiliar cold seep into her bones as she awoke along with being assaulted with several male voices yelling angrily at each other. One voice she recognized as Jason, the man did not sound happy. "If the girl lying in that bed is Abigail, I'll eat my mask, Roy. Abby is dead! There's no changing that fact."

"And all I'm saying was so were you, Jay. You died, but you came back. Why can't the same thing happen to Abby?" The other man, who must've been Roy asked, sounding tired.

"Because as much as we all want Abigail back, her going through that Pit is a _curse! _It twists you, gets into your head!" Jason spat, anger and pain overlaying his every word.

Abby knew briefly what her brother was talking about, he tried so hard to shield her from the demons that sometimes he didn't succeed. She knew a little of what happened to him before and during his stay with Ra's- it wasn't pleasant in the very least.

"Ow…" The girl clutched at her head, after swinging her legs off the bed, halting her movements.

Hearing the girl's cry of pain, the two broke of their argument, and rushed to her side.

"Careful, kid. Jason hit you rather hard to knock you out before we brought you here." The red haired man was the one that spoke, not Jason. He slightly reminded the girl of an old friend that Jay was always going on about in his titans' days- Roy Harper.

Jason was older, that she could see, but it wasn't the older less recklessness that scared her, it was the look in his eyes. It was blue, so bottomless with no light or hope. Those eyes that looked at her were not those of her Jason's. Not her Jason's anyways. They were hopeless- Her Jason had hope… Her Jason had her.

"Well how else was I supposed to bring her here? You really think I'm just gonna let people walk into a top secret base that has been running for years?" Jason asked, crossing his arms. "Who do you take me for? A speedster or an Arrow?"

"Yes, yes, everyone knows you Bats and your paranoia with any and every thing." Roy snarked back, shooting his friend a look before facing the girl again. "But I did say that she was pretty close to the original Abigail. You didn't have to hit her quite as hard."

Abby rolled her eyes, pushing herself to standing. "It's me, Jason. Who else wouldi t be?"

Jason told her seriously, rubbing the back of his neck. "How can we be sure it's you and not an imposter?"

Abby remembered the Cat pin and Piper problem. "The night we met, I wasn't the one to find you first. My father was. He thought you would be a good protector while he continued with trying to find my mother." Abby replied, unsure if this was even her universe or not. That pin could have sent her to a different universe and unless she figured out which it was, she wasn't going to limit her options.

"Well that was helpful. Now, how did you get into the Hall?" Jason demanded. Hearing the answer, Abby breathed slightly easier.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Abby bantered back, pushing past the two tall men put of the medical wing. _What was it about being tall and strong and menacing men became heroes?_ Seeing the cave walls, the girl sighed- Jason never justified not telling her the layout to this place, so unless one of the two gave her a tour, she was once again a prisoner.

"Try me, kid. I'm a superhero and I fight people who are criminally insane." Jason doubted anything the short brown haired girl had to say was going to shock him.

"Fine, I was captured by the Joker, a woman rescued me who she called herself Piper and pinned a cat pin on my vest before its eyes became to glow and I landed in the Hall. Shocking?" Abby crossed her arms, spun on her heel and rattled off her day.

"You're right, I don't believe you." Red Arrow- or was it Arsenal now? – told her, having never heard this one before.

"The Cat Pin was the key to me being brought here." Abigail told them, a faint memory of Jason describing Gotham to her at the back of her mind.

"Never heard of this pin before, but there might be someone who does." Jason grabbed his helment and checked his guns before heading towards the row of bikes and cars sat. The man skipped over the blue and Robin's, sitting on a plain black but sleekly built one.

"I'm coming as well!" Abbby grabbed her leather metallic jacket which had been on the end of the bed, slipping it over her ratty baseball shirt. Seeing a polished dark blue and silver bike that instantly caught her attention, she slipped onto the seat. The symbol which each bike bore differently was one she had never seen before.

"Since everything is normal for you Bats, I should probably head back to Star City." Roy yelled over the motorcycles' roars. The man knew that any help he tried to give would be unappreciated and not welcomed.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter Eight_**

**_Tough times don't last, Though People do_**

Jason and Dick arrived at the address where Piper had told them to go. The location was indeed an abandoned toy factory but it certainly wasn't one holding Abigail. The Joker had left noting but glass beakers and vials laying haphazardly on tables, the chemicals inside no doubt dangerous. Looking around the two realized something.

"I can't believe that Piper managed to play us!" Jason angrily threw his hands up, having not seen the woman's trap.

"Since she's not here, where to?" Nightwing questioned, hands drumming on the side of his leg. Dick knew of one man that would know where the Joker was holed up- he just had to present it in a way that Jason didn't feel like he needed to lash out, like last time. He had checked with Bruce earlier on the whereabouts of said clown- the Joker was currently under lock and key in the Asylum. But Jason didn't know that and this Piper was definitely a new player to be taken seriously.

Jason pulled the Red helmet off, running his gloved palms through his hair. Tonight, the man wasn't wearing two masks, revealing such pain and darkness in his blue orbs. When Dick had first met the man after the Pit, those eyes were full of fire and green- the same green of that water- now they were dead. Those expressive eyes held only darkness, clouded with grief. Dick didn't know what to do- this was Jason- he fought till he couldn't then he fought some more.

"We'll find her Jason." The elder answered him, falling easily into the role of the older brother again.

"What makes you so sure of that, Wingnut?" Jason asked angrily. They were looking for a single person among four billion in a limited time frame. "We're back to square one and both of us know how dangerous the Joker is when the creature isn't making a ruckus."

Dick was known for many things, but the one that made people so loyal to him was his loyalty and his face value trusting. The things he weren't known for were a very short list that his brothers held over his head every once and again.

"You're the Re Hood, Jason. I'm Nightwing and I know in my gut that we will rescue her. And the reason why is so very simple." Dick was probably suicidal right now because of his actions but he continued easily.

"Don't finish that." Jason instantly knew what the man was trying to quote and he knew he was going to ruin it miserably.

"It's because we're big damn heroes," Nightwing flipped over to where Jason was, still quoting. "And we'll arrive just in the nick of time. We always do." The man continued, oblivious to Jason's groan of pain. The younger was busy complementing making his brother's life so very painful, but the elder didn't care.

Dick saw the way Jason's frown was starting to slip, his green eyes staring stonily at him, but that small little crease that he got right between the eyes proved otherwise.

Jason let a small smile slip, fighting to not let it show. "Are you finished insulting the greatest TV show on Earth or shall I put you out of your misery now?"

"Now we have a sister to find." Dick replied, still walking around and mentally cataloguing everything he saw that was potentially a weapon. Which was everything.

"Since when did Abigail become your sister?" Jason asked, skirting with caution around the spilled contents on the floor- acid can be a pretty nasty thing.

A shadow slipped past the two unnoticed, the figure was slim and elegant like that of drapes in front of an open window. It almost seemed to float across the room to the table of chemicals where it grabbed some jars and left, dropping behind a folded piece of paper.

Jason spun around, hand reaching for his gun, hearing a clattering sound but only saw a lone beaker rolling back and forth on the table. Its blue-ish green contents pooling to the floor. Instantly alert, Jason spotted the note almost instantly. The man gingerly picke it out of it's chemical pool and read the meassage.

'_Birds and Bats._

_To find your pet, you must complete these riddles: _

_First, what works endlessly without pleasure but never comes out on top? Second, you must find the bird that was eaten by the Cat, it's wings first clipped by a happy man. Third, the house on the hill is overflowing with laughter. So much so that they let two cards go. Where the King is, the Queen of spades is not. The Joker trumps Deuce. The sky's the limit, but the jester lies in wait of the nest. Your Punchline needs one more to be hilarious and then die. Where does the Cold meet the metal? The sky and water, but not the glamour of the future? Only then will you find your trapped Fox._

_-Piper Solovey.'_

Reading the clues, the once second Robin still couldn't figure out the message. During his tenture as the famous Dark Knight's sidekick, Jason had to do the dectective work and he had been good at it, but they didn't have time to work their way through this many conundrums and save Abby with relative less injuries. But maybe Replacement was good for things like decoding secret enigmas and that sortta crap.

"Hey Wingnut!" The younger cried out, glancing around the room one last time to make sure that there was nothing else he was missing. "Hate to say this but we're going to the Cave."

Dick popped out of several rows of tall shelves holding many types of explosive material. "What? Why would you go to the Cave? Did something happen?" Seeing the almost pointed look Jason was giving him through the helmet, he added. "Well, something besides the whole civilian female with very little fighting experience in the clutches of Joker whose whereabouts are at this moment unknown?"

"We got ourselves a couple of riddles that need figurin' out and little Red is useful for those kinds of things." Jason told him, folding the note carefully and placing it in a plastic evidence bag and then a pocket of his iconic leather jacket.

"These look to be from Riddler, but it's not quite his style, I think." Dick nodded his head, outside appearance showing his agreement of his brother's plan- while inside he was shouting from the rooftops. _Jay was willing to come to the Batcave and by extension- the Manor! _This was something he had been trying to set in motion since the return of the wayward bird. Up to that moment, the older man had yet to see any success.

_~* INSIDE THE BATCAVE *~_

Jason cut the engine of his bike- the echoing stone now devoid of the dull roar. He kicked the kickstand down, harder then what he would normally do. Abby was his responsibility and he had sworn to her father that he'd protect her- now look at where she ended up! The man was only here looking for the Pretender and he would leave as soon as he found the teenager. Bruce didn't need his help against the crime in Gotham, the man never did agree with his ways, why would he change now? Just because Dickiebird makes a big fuss about them being family and family looks out for each other and blah… blah… blah.

Jason loathed to admitting when he needed other people's help, but if it brought back Abigail quiker it meant all of their necks would be safer in the long run, not that the others would believe him if he said why that was. If it meant that much, then he would brave the Cave for a few days…. Possibly.

"Jay, before you get all fired up and ready to kill the youngest two, try to see things from Abby's view, kay?" Dick, always the peace maker and the ever loyal son. Why couldn't Jay be like that? Instead of simply being _'a good soldier'_- why couldn't Bruce see him as more then a Robin- a sidekick? The _dead_ sidekick?

"I'm only staying here long enough to drop off this letter, Dickiebird. Don't get your tutu into such a knot." Jason tried to sound nonchalant, but it came across much harsher the he pictured. Seeing Tim still at the computer, doing who's guess is what changed the man's ground eating stride.

"You think that's an insult? The strongest woman I know is Ballerina." Dick called after him, still standing where he had parked the Wing-cycle.

"Hey Replace-Tim. I need your help deciphering something important." Jay called out, hand reaching for the inside pocket of his leather jacket.

"Hmm?" Tim brushed his hand through his hair, still deeply immersed in what looked to be rows upon rows of ones, twos, and threes. "I'll be finished soon, Alfred. Just a couple more minutes."

Mistaking Alfred for Jason, earned a snort from the man. Of Alfred was getting on Pretender's hide about Bat-stuff, the dectective wasn't any use to Jason or Abby at all. "Okay…." Jay hesitated over his name. "Tim, time to go to bed."

"Jason?" Feeling hands propelling the tiny seventeen year old up from the chair, Tim finally left the world of endless binary and linear coding. "How? Why are you here?"

"Dickiebird convinced me to come to the Cave so we can find Abigail more easily but you look like you're about to pass out."

Tim immediately replied with the only thing that entered his mind at the moment. "Sleepiness in weakness of character, ask anyone."

"And…. That's a sign you need to get a little more sleep right now, Timmers. I'm not going to argue with someone who is quoting Firefly to me." Jay guided the younger up the stairs after making sure that both of them were in civilian clothing. Alfred was pretty strict on that rule and how he got back at them just wasn't fair at all.

"How do I know you're not gonna kill me in my sleep?" Tim questioned as the two emerged from the secret doorway in the study.

Jason internally sighed. Who knew that Replacement was even more paranoid when he was almost collapsing from exhaustion?

"Timmers, for the last time. If I had wanted to kill you, I'd do it face to face and you'd know it." Jason reasoned with the younger, pushing his slip of a brother easily out of the study and up the grand staircase.

"I believe you." Tim trailed off, his body falling forward as the teenager finally collapsed.

Jason grunted, catching the younger's body. The two were still only halfway up the stairs. Sighing, Jason rolled his eyes and swung his fledging brother up in bridal style. Jason carried his little brother to his room and by extension- bed.

As Jason slipped the slight boy under the featherdown, Tim mumbled, hand going limp as he flung it over the side. "Missed you, Jay."

His words caused the elder to freeze, terrified that Tim had woken up. After everything he had gone and did- Tim, who he tried to kill numerous times was still welcoming him home with open arms. Albeit limp arms at the moment. It made Jason stop and actually think about what he was going to do with those that he called themselves his family. The way Tim acted tonight reminded Jason of something he hadn't thought about in years.

_~*Flashback*~_

Jason didn't exactly knew his own personal reasoning's to return to that spot- the site of his former life now buried- but he did. Maybe it was to see the impact of him not being a part of the Batfamily anymore, but he was not expecting a tiny rebar in a Robin suit to be curled up facing the headstone. Jason hated that piece. Bruce didn't buy anything elaborate or money-lookin' thing –which disappointed the boy…. Almost.

It was the words. They read 'Jason Peter Todd. 1988-203' underneath that sat 'A Loved son & brother.' Did Bruce really not see himself as his father? Why would Jason want to keep the name of the man that only gave him black eyes and broken bones? Bruce had been more of a father to him than anyone, and Dick- Dick hadn't even bothered to acknowledge his existence up to that stupid, stupid trip to Ethiopia.

"They miss you Jay, you wouldn't mind me calling you Jay, will you?" The sudden hesitant voice almost caused Jason to break from his spot in the shadows till he realized that th boy was addressing the grave. His actions, the almost familiar way the young boy sat and spoke- describing his everyday was, dare he say it? Those actions were familiar.

"Dick and Bruce had another fight, Jay. It was about you being Robin, again." The boy bowed his head, as the beginning of a rainstorm fell onto of the two lone occupants in the Wayne Family cemetery. "I don't want you to feel like I stole your right, I didn't. I did this for Bruce and Batman."

The boy's explanation earned a silent snort, Jason rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, waiting for the excuse.

"Batman is the Darkness, he preys on our fears, but he needs a Robin, Jay. Robin is the light, the hope, that little spark inside of us refusing to die and give in." The Boy's voice gained strength as he spoke, sitting straighter. The boy placed a moonlight pale hand on the stone as he continued his explanation. "You showed me to be brave, to laugh in the face of danger and to always fight. I wish you were here, Jay. Maybe then it'll feel more of a family if I had an older brother here."

Jason had been so prepared to hate the slip of a kid, but hearing the last part f what looked to be a nightly ritual, Jason swore he wouldn't end up being Dick when he first joined the Waynes. Jason watched the boy pick himself up, grasping the mask while he made his way indoors again.

After the newest Boy Wonder disappeared, Jason stuk his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and left the graveyard without a second glance. Whatever his reasons for first going there didn't matter anymore. Plus Talia was probably worried about him anyway. Jason had promised a certain seven year ninja child to teach him the use of batarangs.

_~*FLASHBACK END *~_

**_AN: Can anyone guess what the answers to the riddles are and how each one works ontop of the other one? And can anyone guess the significance of the dates on the grave? Because the year Jason Todd was born here was an actual event that involved him during that year for Dc._**


	9. Interlude: The Court of Owls

Beware the Court of Owls

that watches all the time.

Ruling Gotham from their shadowed perch

Behind Granite and Crime

They watch you at your hearth

They watch you in your bed.

Speak not a whispered word about them

They'll send a Talon for your head.

Their only goal is you death

At the front leads Six

His Warriors are mighty, many are slain.

The General will lead Triumphantly

The soldiers are mysterious

Ever they fight, ever the blade

Speak not a whisper, my dear child

They watch your every move

The Talon is watching your bed

They plot your ultimate death

They guard Gotham from shadowed perches

Growing angry at their dead.

Beware the Court of Owls

They're on their way here

To assassinate the evil Tyrant lord

Behind Shadows and cloaks

They watch him at his hearth

They watch him in his bed

Speak not a whispered word about it

They'll send Talon for your head next.

**AN: This will be the last chapter until I get at least 18 reviews. I know that's a lot to ask guys, but frankly I'm not feeling like I should be putting my blood, sweat and tears into this and making sure this story is actually updated if I don't get anything in return. so PLEASE, please review. All you have to do is click that button on the bottom right and leave your thoughts. Anything that comes to mind after reading this. That's all I ask.**

**~KiChan**


	10. Chapter 9

_A/N: I know that I said I wasn't going to update till 18 views, but that isn't much fair to the few very loyal reviewers and readers that I have already. As long as you guys keep posting words, I'll keep posting chapters. I don't need a thousand followers or a thousand reviews, just a couple ones every chapter. SO this is for you; Twillightfairy, ArtemisCrock73, TERM1NAT0R, DonnaJosee. On another side note, I've had this chapter in pieces since before day 1 of this story. It's the longest existing thing I have ever written_ _and is still good._

**Chapter Nine**

**Calling the Calvary**

Bruce was in the cave as usual, Alfred had already tried unsuccessfully to get him to eat upstairs in the manor. At the moment, the tapping of the keyboard was the only sound in the cave. The bats, who normally would flutter about, were coming home soon, but it wasn't quite sunrise yet. Batman's cowl sat pushed onto his back like a lowered hood. It was Bruce who sat working at the computer this early in the morning.

How the wrongs has been so quick to be piled against the father. The sorrows were his to carry, his burden alone. He had his sons home, but at the same not. Oh, where did he go so wrong with his second oldest? He tried so hard to raise Jason right. Dick had needed a mentor, someone to teach him to be Robin, to give him purpose. Dick hadn't needed someone to be his father.

But Jason… the boy hadn't had a father in the first place. Willis Todd was, by all definition of the word, not his father. Bruce should have stepped up… Maybe then, Jason wouldn't had felt the need to go chasing after Shelia and get himself killed

Fear held him back, it held Bruce back. The man didn't know anything to even be a parent in the first place. What if he had led Jason down a dark path? Setting him to beginning a villain?

But in his inactions, with his fears; Bruce; the boy's father, sent him down that path anyway. Jason, his son, was to pay for those mistakes.

"Master Bruce." Alfred's voice shook the man out of his self-loathing. "Please do come upstairs, sir. Master Jason did just stay the night after all. You mustn't disappoint the boy." The normally unflappable Butler's voice, held minor disapproval and regret.

"What does he want?" Bruce asked, already guessing the reasons for his second oldest' visit. The streets have gotten a little hard to control since his return from the Hospital. Bruce had Dick keep an eye on Jason for him to minimize causalities.

"He wishes to speak to you in the kitchen, Master Bruce." Looking around himself, the faithful friend left after telling the Batman. "I expect you upstairs and dressed presentably."

~In the Kitchen Five minutes ago~

"I told you, I don't need Bruce's help. I just need Baby Bird's and that stinkin' computer." Jason slumped on the barstool, foreseeing Dick's argument. Was there ever going to be a minute where the acrobat didn't have to shadow him?

"Come on Jay, you're not the only one that thinks Abby is their little sister, ya know. Let the family help." Dick didn't understand why Jason was so adamant that the Bats not get involved, even though they had the resources.

"I'm only here because Gotham doesn't need to have another No Man's Land. Abby is my family, and she's stuck with the Joker. You, Bruce, Tim, even Damian aren't my family. You'll never be my family. " Jason turned onto the older man with startling fury. "The same Joker who blew me up and crippled your girlfriend. Or don't you remember?"

"Jason enough." Bruce's commanding voice came from the doorway.

Turing around, Jason took in the appearance of his once-Father. Bruce looked the same as ever to the untrained eye, but Jason had been trained to notice minuscule details. The young man noticed the worry lines that furrowed his brow, and the odd tired look in his eyes…. Bruce had aged in the the six years that Jason had been gone.

"You've been at the manor since early morning. Why?" Bruce knew he was bad at emotions, he knew that if he tried to be concerned about his son, Jason would get the wrong idea.

"I've been trying to track Abigail. Coming here was my last option." Jason said pointedly said, swallowing what he was originally going to say.

He wasn't going to appear weak before his old mentor. Not after Bruce had failed him the first time.

"The Joker's captured Abigail." Dick supplied, knowing that his father and his brother were too similar to give in and apologize first.

"I've been looking for him as fast as I can. His next move could be anything." Bruce tiredly ran fingers though his hair.

"If the Joker has been in Arkham since the beginning: who has Abigail then? She's been gone for two weeks now. That girl's tough but not that tough." Jason crossed his arms, trying to hide the emotions thinking about Abby wrought

"She's your sidekick. Doesn't she carry gear that enables you to find her?" Dick asked, practically ignoring the two Batglares directed at him.

"One, don't ever call her sidekick. Not unless you want to lose something important; your legs for instance. It's a picky subject. Second, she usually finds and destroys the trackers anyway. I've given up on them." Jason started to dig through his pockets trying to find something. Eventually the man pulled out a pendant shaped like a bird in flight. Sighing, he tossed it onto the counter in front of his older brother "That is the only tracker. We won't be able to find her if she doesn't want to be."

"You're letting us help?" Bruce asked skeptically.

"Like Dickiebird and Abby has told me so many times. We're family, no matter how many times we may try to kill each other, we aren't gonna let anybody else do it." Jason shrugged helplessly. "Besides, you see what happens when you anger the kid. "

**PAGE BREAK**

_Several nights later_

Sourana grinned from where she appeared silently. Those heroes wouldn't know what she had in store for them. She was the Mistress of Mayhem, the one person that went beyond what even the Joker was capable of. This will teach those meddling two-bit cape wearing vigilantes, she was sure of it. She would wipe them from existence. Then and _only_ then, will Abigail- her _Malen'kiy Foks,_ be safe from her fate. It was a lesson the girl had to learn no matter what. Life was a big dog, sometimes it'll knock you down but you aren't finished unless you give in. Sourana wasn't going to let the girl's fate be her own and _Foks_ wasn't finished just yet.

Sourana would easily wipe those peddling clumsy delinquents of crime and show the how it should be done. As the woman moved from one shadow to the next, you could only see flashes of what she looked like. Flashes of red hair were the only thing visible. The woman dressed like a vampire.

"Your move, Bats." She whispered to the air, staring down at the Arkham Island from her perch. The game was set, now all it just needed was its players to move into position.

"The Bats will make an appearance soon enough. And when they do, I'll be ready." Sourana whispered her green eyes hard as emerald gems.

**PAGE BREAK**

_Later that evening_

"I'm going to ground her ass for the next thirty years if I have to." Jason growled. The man was mad, almost to the extent that he was no longer thinking clearly. He was secretly worried about his sister, but they had a job to do.

"Enough, Jason." Batman growled, landing behind the man on the rooftop. The two were meeting on the edge of Red Hood's territory.

If Abigail was going to be rescued and soon, they needed to keep their whole efforts and minds on her. It was only a matter of time before the Joker caused more chaos and killed Abigail for the pleasure of it, Batman wasn't about to let another die at that creature's hands. Not if he could stop it. "Tell me what you've found." The bit that was Bruce slipped further from sight. He wouldn't say anything out loud, but Jason controlling the East End had it's upsides.

"There's a new wacko loose, by the sound of it. Whoever they are, they're calling themselves Piper. She's taking the kids out of Gotham, making them disappear." Red Hood reported, arms crossed over a leather jacket.

"I know, the Piper has only been active a few weeks. She's only taking the street kids and orphans. That's why no one has heard anything." Batman told him, having already investigated the woman. She was harmless, and didn't need him to hound." Anything else?"

"When I started to follow leads and the gangs that stopped giving cuts, I found something. At first I thought it was Black Mask taking back control, but he's still in Blackgate, but its worse." Red Hood threw a folder in front of the man. "That's everything I could grab before I got shot at. The gangs that quit giving me cuts; they're in the protection of a somebody calling herself Mayhem. They say that the woman is the one behind the Arkham breakouts and the disappearance of Abigail."

Batman picked up the rather thin folder and opened it. Inside weren't any real pictures of the Villainess; only a crude drawing of a shadow moving. "For someone supposedly scary, there's hardly any concrete information in here."

Red Hood shrugged, titling his head. "As much fun as our roof-top meets have been, I need to get back to patrol." He told the older man before disappearing back into the Red Hood's territory.

Batman watched as the black sheep of the family disappeared, tucking the folder away. The giant bat fired his own grapple into the night and followed the younger's example. Jason might have an image to keep for the crime's sake but there wasn't any heart to it anymore. He'd gotten softer since Abby's disappearance, even sleeping at the Manor every once in a while.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter ten  
>Disappearing Acts<p>

A/N: So everyone knows how long chapter nine took to post right? Well this one was actually written in my notebook for months, I just haven't had time to post with the beginning of Band competition season starting in five days. As always: Please review and keep reading folks!

**ArtemisCrock73- your words are so very kind, I think you may be exaggerating some of them. Also, I think you'll like the hint I leave at the end of this chapter for you.**

Batman changed his direction, thinking about the rumors that the Joker hadn't left his cell in arkham. He had to make sure himself, not trusting the staff with his errand.

~Arkham Asylum~

"And the Bat enters from Stage Right." Sourana smiled, crouched on one of the gargoyles. "Time for our show to begin, my children." Shadows detached themselves from their various perches and flew downwards to fly in many directions.

The woman moved not to confront the dark hero but upwards to higher ground. "And now for the next scene in our story." A simple pendant was revealed when the moon hit its surface, Sourana rubbed the gems on it. The design of the pendent was similar to that which Abigail had been given before she got thrown from this world. "Let's see how you deal with children, _Malen'kiy Foks_. Time for the Piper to play her tune, isn't it?"

Sourana tucked the necklace back under her black clothes, scrambling from the rooftops to find the clown. There was much to do tonight and it would be pointless if the Bats found their wayward fox before she was ready for it.

**~PAGE BREAK~**

"Ah, Batsy. Did you miss me? Is that why you came to visit dear ol' me?" The mad man asked, face pressed to the barred window.

"Who is Mayhem, Joker?" Batman growled, dropping down to stand in front of the metal door. The shadows along the damp hall seemed just a little bit thicker that night.

"You came all this way to visit me and you ask about something I didn't do?" The clown dramatically pouted. "Don't you think that if I had done something I would have made sure that it was me and you would know it, Bats?"

"Mayhem has been causing terror in the streets, committing types of crimes that only you would do. So I'll ask one last time Joker; who is Mayhem?" Batman growled louder, having had enough with the deranged clown. He didn't give him all of the information he had because that would be asking for disaster.

"An imposter of me?!" The man over acted being shocked. "And you're going to catch them? Why Batsy! I didn't know you cared! Give little ol' me a kiss." The Joker shook with laughter, the orange straight jacket preventing him from staying upright.

"Mayhem, Joker. What do you know of her?" The man was slowly losing his patience. "She thinks and acts like you. Who is she?" The caped bat mentally disregarded what the clown was spouting from his mouth.

"Oh you know, I couldn't let your little bat brats get away with everything. Now could I?" Joker was laying on his back, still chortling in between words as he tried to catch his breath. "Why couldn't the Clown Prince of Crime train a youngster in the ways of chaos? The perfect Junior! And I did! Mayhem, was everything her ol' pop was and more! Harls went a little nesting, but that could be fixed! But then your stinking Bird Blunders happened!" Joker scooted backwards, and propped himself against the stone wall. "She'll come soon. Junior won't leave dear ol' Poopsie in this Looney bin forever!"

"So you trained Mayhem?" The Batman growled, anger briefly showing. "Tell me why, Joker. Why would you throw that much potential out?"

"Because…" The man couldn't speak around his laughter, his breath starting to wheeze. "Mayhem was becoming the teacher! She was showing her old man up! What kind of parent would I be if I didn't use discipline? So I grounded her, sent her off to clown school. When she got back, she claimed that the family business needed something new. Harls and I indulged the girl. What kind of parents would we be if we didn't let her get away with crazy things every once in a while?"

"You are possibly the worst parent ever." Batman let the words slip, interrupting the clown briefly.

"Like you're any better, Batsy! Our dear little bird came all the way from the dead to make a shindig happen because you couldn't get to your little bird fast enough! Mayhem is making her old man proud! She'll have all of Gotham tied up and dying of laughter! Watch it happen, Dork Knight."

The sound of fabric 'whopping!' was the only response as the man fell back into another fit of giggles.

**~ABBY'S POV~**

"Here, this should belong to you." Barbara placed a black duffel bag into Abigail's arms, "The Costume is better served with you wearing it. The locker rooms are behind the computer. Jason is heading back to the streets soon."

"I don't know what to say. Are you sure I should have this? I don't belong here." Abigail looked questionably to the older woman.

"You may be from a totally different world, Abigail, but you are one of us. You are a bat through and through. That is why all us of think you deserve those." Selena nodded her head to the locker room. "Go put them on, Kitten. See if they fit."

Abigail smiled, tears in her eyes. The girl didn't know if she would ever make it home to her real family, but the one in this universe were slowly making a space in her heart. The heroes here were broken, they lost so much for Earth, but still they came out every night and answered Gotham's deepest wish- to fight for their city.

Zipping open the bag, Abigail revealed dark grey fabric. Lifting the cloth out, it unfolded to be a long sleeves armor. Light blue colors weaved down the front to form a 45 degree angled V. Pants were folded underneath the same dark grey almost black color as the shirt's sleeves and sides. Long boots were folded on top of the pants along with a utility belt that was silver.

**~Later~**

The girl was standing in front of Catwoman, Oracle, and Jason, when the sickening feeling of dizziness overcame her. The white light engulfed her, as the world spun in all kinds of direction. The whole thing was over in a second but the amount of time that it went on for made the girl want to hurl. She was never going on another rollercoaster again!

The girl yelped as she fell a foot vertically down. Abigail hadn't seen much before closing her eyes, willing her stomach to calm. But what she did glimpse was not home or anything like it. She went from being in the cave with all of the memorials after Oracle had given a bag to her to this. She hated not being in her home. Hopefully this one is the one that was the one she came from. Never again was someone going to get the drop on her, she vowed silently.

"There is a stranger in the cave!" A young teenager pointed out. Realizing what he just said, his next words came tumbling out. "There's a stranger in the cave! Why is there a stranger in the cave?!"


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

**Dust in the Wind**

AN: Apparently I haven't done this till now- oops?

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman and all the connected things in this story. This is partially an AU. I own only Abby, the villains and my ideas. Kay?

Recap: "There's a stranger in the cave!" A young teenager pointed out. Realizing what he just said, his next words came tumbling out. "There's a stranger in the cave! Why is there a stranger in the cave?"

A muffled shout echoed as a group of figures walked into the room. "Good going, Kid Mouth."

Scrambling to her feet, Abby watched as four unrecognizable dressed teenagers alongside…. Robin! There was hope yet that she could find her way home now. Where there is a bird, there is surely a Bat.

"What is your name?" The one with the gills asked. He looked similar to Aquaman. Abby guessed that he might be an Atlantean.

"How did you get here? This area is off limits." The green Archeress asked, arms crossed as she glared distrustfully at Abby.

"Umm…." Abby pointed upwards, unsure if they would actually believe her. Having made up her mind, the girl just went for it. "Multi universe portal dropped me here. Where ever here happens to be."

"Please there's no such thing as multiverse travel. We live in a universe. Uni meaning one. There's only gonna be one, so quit lying and tell us who are." Kid Mouth, as Abby decided to call him as it fit, talked to her as if she was five. The girl instantly didn't like him.

"You made yourself the third fasted person alive by recreating a freak accident, plus you are friends with Batman's son, Superman's clone, and a Martian- yet multiverse was never considered probable?" Abby asked, naming off the details that she had gathered in her short time here. If this world was anything like hers, then their history must be pretty similar.

"She's got a point there, Train Mouth." The Archeress told him, smirking at the out of water fish look.

"I'm not Batman's-" Robin started to speak, realizing that the stranger must know something, he just stopped. "Now if everyone is whelmed, can you just give us your name?"

Abby opened her mouth but closed it realizing that the name Death's Mistress no longer fit her. So she used the one that her father gave her, one that she would be honored to carry again. "Call me Lisily." Jason had also drilled into her that she had to keep her secret identity at all costs.

"That's a stupid name. Who would call themselves Lisisly? It has no flare, no originality. It's boooring." Kid Flash rambled, his speed a tad faster then what a human could process.

"What kind of name is that?" Artemis asked, never before hearing such a name.

""I'm not gonna tell you my secret identity, so don't bother." Abby immediately snapped, feeling so lost in this world. It looked like years before hers and if that's the case then it would be safer to not use anything that was specific to link her with this world's Abby.

Seeing the look the girl cast him, the walking street light closed his mouth instantly. She used a full blown authentic batglare at him! How?

"Okay….. It's possible that you're telling the truth." Robin jumped in before they came to serious blows. He could see that the girl was getting to be pretty freaked out. "Now if everyone will just get whelmed, we can figure out a way to get you home."

"Thanks. Wait, is that even a word?" Abby stared in shock. She guessed that this might be Robin number one; but Dick never spoke like that. Not that she knew of anyway.

"Uh, yeah?" Robin looked at her in confusion, having gotten used to his teammates not questioning his words. "People get overwhelmed and underwhelmed. Why can't we all be whelmed at times?"

Abby smiled a genuine smile that showed her teeth, finally getting what Robin was saying. "I never actually thought about it that way, continue."

Robin smiled at her, just a tad cheeky. "You're not going to be sent to the Watchtower or freed until Batman authenticates your story." Seeing his smile, Abby felt sure that this was in fact Dick Grayson, only years younger then what he was supposed to be. For her anyway

"I suppose that is only reasonably, but your Bats isn't as paranoid as mine is." Abby shrugged expecting something along the lines of the agreed terms.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, having stopped moving for the longest time since she got there.

"My Bats would have already had me in cuffs and a system protocol in place. But seeing as who you are, I can understand why. Certain things won't happen for another seven years."

"What kind of things?" Ms. Martian asked, curious. This stranger wore the symbol of the Bat, acted like him sometimes but for the most part, she was experienced and easy going.

"I've already said too much. If this is my world displaced by years then I'm possibly corrupting the timeline already. I'm rewriting my own history and future in a sense." Abby froze, thinking quickly. This world happened to be too similar to hers that she didn't know what to do.

"You are one weird girl." Superman's clone said, finally saying something.

"I suppose this is the part where I hand my 'toys' over?" The girl slung the black bag off her neck and held it out for one of the heroes.

"That would be a good idea, yes." The Atlantean spoke, grabbing the offered handle.

The girl continued to tug on her armour like uniform, handing a blue/grey belt to Robin. The belt buckle was shaped like a Bat, and there were side holsters attached as well. But not for guns like Jason's, instead they were blades. Her gauntlets were next, revealing vertical scars on the insides of both of her forearms. Abby then passed two more blades with sheaths from her arms to the boy. The tops of her boots held small bat shaped tracking devices along with a couple shuriken and a small elegantly curved wooden handled blade.

"That everything or did you also carry around an entire arsenal?" Artemis asked, seeing the pile of weapons slowly grow. Her arms were crossed and her fingers were playing with the taunt bowstring.

"The escrima sticks are in the bag along with a couple staffs and grenades." Abby shrugged, "There's also some other things in there, but I ask that you don't go through it."

"Aren't you a little touchy…? Sheesh. Why would we go through your bag full of highly dangerous weaponry?" Kid Flash asked "If you're actually telling the truth, what kind of world do you live in? You're packing enough weaponry for an entire war."

"I don't work for Batman personally, I'm freelance in a way." Abby explained, holding her wrists out expectantly. "There are things I get outside of dear ol' Bats."

"I still don't trust you, even if you are an ally." Artemis spat, tying Lisily's wrists with a knot that she thought couldn't be escaped from.

"I don't expect you to" She waited patiently as the other girl finished binding her. The young heroes led her through the halls, eventually Robin and the younger version of Aquman had decided to leave her in a locked extra guest quarters.

Seeing her temporary home, Lisily smiled and made herself comfortable on the small cleanly made bed. The strange girl watched as the metal door closed, all the while quietly untying herself.

_PAGE BREAK_

"Dude, Batman is never going to let us out of our Mentor's sights again!" Wally complained loudly, looking at the closed door.

"I don't trust her." Artemis crossed her arms, her mind already made up. "She's hiding something important."

"Of course she's hiding something. She acts like a bloody bat!" Wally threw up his hands, acting as if it was the most obvious detail in the world.

"Come my friends. We will await the Justice League in the Training Room." Kaulder took control of the situation. As the five walked back the way they had come, Kaulder questioned. "M'gann were you able to gather any information from her mind?"

"No, when I tried to, she was somehow able to block parts from me." The green Martian who was floating, sank to the floor. "It was as if someone subconsciously sealed memories away. But what I did get was that she works closely with one of Batman's allies."

Robin dropped to the floor, having disappeared since the girl had been secured. His arrival startled Artemis, who shot him a dirty look. "She wasn't lying when she claimed to be working with Bats. Lisily already worked her hands free by the time you put her in the room."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Artemis grabbed her bow, snapping it into place. "She could be getting top secret information without our knowledge."

"Artemis, stop!" Robin yelled at her, as the archer started stalking for Lisily's room. "It was a test to confirm her story. That was all, Batman should be arriving soon."

The computer's voice rang out in the hideout "Batman: O-8-4"

"Oh, good. Now we get answers." Artemis changed her direction, her face still set into a scowl. The rest of the team followed her, each wondering what or who their 'guest' was exactly.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**When the Young die.**

When Batman arrived in the cave, he didn't expect the prisoner to be the only one to greet him. The girl stepped out of the shadows, her ash grey shirt sleeves not hiding scarred wrists.

"What happened to the team?" Batman growled, instantly suspicious. The man was tall, but his mouth didn't hold the ever present downward turn that Abby had become to expect from the great Batman. Instead, he was a horned shadow towering over her in black. If he thought to scare her, this batman should probably take some pointers from her universe then.

"I haven't touched them, Bats." The girl looked like she was trying not to laugh. "They were actually hot on my tail to greet you. It was bloody hell trying to stay unnoticed by your bird."

Artemis arrived first and spotted their unwelcome guest. "Ugh. How did you? We tied you and went into lock down! How?"

"I got bored." Lisily shrugged helplessly. "And no one bothered to post a guard- which is a rather bad habit, mind you. Plus I wasn't even offered food. Do you know how rude that is?"

Seeing the teenagers mouths open for objections, Lisily smiled, revealing that she was only messing with them.

"Now that everyone is here, I'll continue." Batman shot a glare at their 'guest', who wasn't intimated by it. "How did you arrive in 'The Cave'?"

Lisily ruefully smiled, shifting her weight to the other foot. "I got zapped her somehow. Just like I got zapped into the last multiverse. I'm so going bonkers on that villain's tush when I get home."

"What sort of villain?" Batman was suspicious, if there was a villain that could travel inter-dimensionally, then he wanted to be prepared for it. Besides that, the longer this strange girl stayed in their world, it would begin to upset the normal balance of things.

"She called herself the Piper." Lisily told them, arms crossed. "It's nothing to concern yourself with. This involves me and mine, only."

"Are you sure of this?" Robin piped in, suspecting something important being withheld.

"She claims to be teaching me a lesson, along with one of my-"Lisily paused as if searching for a word. "Allies. Piper connected a pin to my shirt before I was transported to something like the future. But it wasn't. The heroes there…."

M'gann watched as the bantering hero trailed off and started to curl within herself. The waves of pure pain, sadness coming off the girl in waves made the green Martian also feel the same emotions. Kid Flash winced in sympathy knowing how it felt to be a stranger. The Flashes were known to time travel every once in a while. The younger copy of Superman glared resolutely at the upset girl, obviously annoyed for some reason.

"What was the purpose to knock you out of your own universe?" Batman tried to understand why someone would go to all that trouble and just displace the girl. What kinds of tension did these two share?

"Piper claimed things that only three people would know. And two of those are either dead or more secretive then an oyster shell." Lisily slumped under the combined gazes of the other heroes. Brown hair was starting to come out of her braid and fall into her eyes, but she didn't move it.

Robin shared a look with his mentor, a look that was also a conversation discussing what to do with the helpless girl. Artemis wasn't glaring as fiercely at the girl as she had been, Lisily's words finally hitting her. M'gann felt the waves of emotions of sadness, homesickness, and extreme loneliness emanating from the girl. Her mind's eye caught images of two men bickering fondly while Lisily's voice rang out. "Would you two just hug already?" Her voice sounded exasperated.

"What brought you to this world?" The protégé if Aquaman asked, trying to assist where he could. The Atlantean could also sense the girl's worry and fear.

"A woman in Gotham will be able to help me find that which I seek. I have to find something similar to this to get myself home." Lisily clutched a pin in her hand, opening her fingers to show it glittering on her palm._ Her family needed her._

"No, you will stay here. Robin and I will get you home soon enough." Batman's voice interrupted her internal monologue. "Lisily, you'll stay here with the rest of the team while we're away."

Lisly frowned, already objecting to the new restrictions. This wasn't his job, dang it! It came down to her trying to go home and she will do that. Seeing his glare through the cowl, Lisily opened her mouth. Deciding what she was originally gonna say wouldn't help matters any, the girl sighed before leaving the room. Her head hung just a tad lower and her steps weren't as energetic as before.

The sidekicks and Batman watched as the girl left, words being thrown over her shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. I stay under house arrest while you and Robin go have a play date."

M'gann, Wally, and Robin shared a look. Lisily was certainly an enigma.

"What did you gather when you searched her mind, M'gann?" Batman asked, knowing that the girl wasn't telling the complete story.

The red haired Martian clasped her hands together, smiling sadly. "She has a family on her Earth that she's worried about. Lisily believes that without her, they'll destroy themselves."

Robin asked curiously, "how much information did you verify of her story?"

M'gann nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes, when I first touched her mind, she was scared and weary but when you appeared there was a spark of familiarity, but also confusion. When Batman showed up, there was a feeling of safety, trust, and longing. She's telling the truth, lustily only wants to go home."

"And she will." Batman assured her, gesturing for Robin to follow him to the zetatubes. "We need to get back to Gotham."

Robin nodded, following his mentor. For once the rather unserious boy didn't cackle his familiar laugh. When the two disappeared, M'gann snaked her forehead declaring loudly. "Hello Megan! We have a guest! Cookies will surely cheer her up!" Before heading for her fully stocked pantry.

**~*PAGE BREAK*~**

Abby slipped into the shadows, her gait entirely silent to even Connor's ears. She didn't want the others to know where she was. Abby wasn't fond of being watched over in the best of times; this only made it worse. The girl turned the corner, finding herself facing one of Batman's secret escape hatches. She quietly hacked the lock. With a 'whoosh' of the lock, Abby scrambled nimbly up the metal bars like a monkey. The hatch led to the top of what the locals called Mount Justice. Abby's first breath of this earth's air was a brisk breeze off the bay. The salt in the air made her tongue just a little bit dry and the smell of the bay made her even more homesick.

Jason used to take her with him every time he went down to the warf . Her brother had always complained loudly about having to keep an eye on her because she was 'an accident waiting to happen' but the two of them knew it was just a front. Jason secretly was proud of how many crimes she had just happened to 'stumble' upon even though he claimed she had been trained better than just hit and miss situations.

Abby crossed her legs, drawinging them closer to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. It was close to the beginning of sunset, the sky starting to garner streaks of color. As she watched, Abby blinked away tears. Was Jason sitting on the old church roof, wondering where Abby was? Did he even miss her or notice that his territory was falling apart around him.

Abby sat on top of the ledge she had found until long after the last rays of the sunset had dissappeared. The Stars weren't visible because of a he light pollution from the ja ruby town, but Abby didn't care. The girl didn't want to go inside and face the alternates of the younger heroes. In her world, super it wasn't as antisocial and wasn't consumed by hatred. He and Red Robin were best pals- a younger generation of the friendship between Batman and Superman. She kept catching herself from calling him by his kryptonian name- Kon-El. This Conner and Clark weren't even on speaking terms with each other here! How had that one even happen? Clark was a freaking Boy Scout and he pulled a complete Bat- Bruce and Ollie move!

**~*Page break*~**

Abby slipped into the family room a little around one in the morning. It was empty and dark; the only light came from a tv screen where the bouncing 'No Signal' overtop the static. The 'frzzz' was the only sound in the room. Abby saw that the room was unusually empty but it made no difference to her. The only ones she couldn't get away from were in Gotham at the moment. Hitching her backpack strap higher, Abby slipped in through the kitchen, where she grabbed several cans and packages of food. The 'borrowed' foodstuffs went into the bag onto power of some of the more lethal gadgets. If those so called heroes were actually smart, they wouldn't follow her. The girl checked her pockets; double checking to make sure she had everything before she disappeared.

On the countertop all but forgotten laid a crisp piece of stationary paper with elegant handwriting on it.

_Don't follow me please. I am doing what I must to get home._


End file.
